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Directed by Guka Omarova
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An uncommonly moving feature about characters in desperate circumstances,
THE RECRUITER offers both a unique coming-of-age story and a sterling feature
debut
by director Guka Omarova. The film concerns Mustafa, a boy not quite 15 years
old, who becomes caught up in sordid adult dealings, and must struggle to maintain
his sense of beauty and right as he develops the expertise and thick skin of
a true player. Growing up in the destitute early ‘90s Kazakhstan, the young
man lives an unrewarding home life in early-’90s Kazakhstan with his single
mother and her boyfriend Sakura (a small-time hood.) The makeshift family is
poor, and the adults pay little attention to Mustafa's prospects, except that
Sakura offers Mustafa a role in his own income scheme: procuring other men who
will agree to fight in an underground and illegal boxing syndicate. The men vie
for money and cars, but few will ever win, and some are horribly injured. Already
toughened by life, Mustafa takes to this work with zeal, happy to have a little
spending money. But he is taken aback when one recruit – a young man named
Ali – dies after his boxing match, entrusting a small amount of money to
Mustafa, to be delivered to Ali’s girlfriend Zina.
Feeling a faint sympathy for the dead Ali, Mustafa finds Zina, a somewhat older
woman, living in a small hovel on the outskirts of his town. Also living there
is someone Ali never mentioned: his young son Sanzhik, a mere toddler who finds
the new, teenage stranger intriguing. Keenly aware of Zina’s wrenching
poverty, Mustafa delivers Ali’s money without initially breaking the news
of his tragic death. Finally observing this last formality, he becomes a regular
visitor at Zina’s home. Much to their mutual surprise, the three young,
wounded people take on the aspect of a family more functional than Mustafa’s
own. Mustafa and Zina undertake a physical relationship (especially tender, given
his relative inexperience). Mustafa also develops a special bond with young Sanzhik,
gradually coming to provide the stability and warmth that his own childhood has
so sorely lacked. But in his growing desire to support Zina and Sanzhik, Mustafa
must raise more money, and he redoubles his involvement with the illegal fighting
operation, even recruiting an alcoholic uncle to undergo the punishing ordeal.
When the uncle’s unexpected win foils the schemes of Sakura’s crooked
boss, Mustafa faces possible disaster – and realizes that this represents
calamity to his new family as well. The decisions he makes next are both noble
and wrenching.
Austere direction, stark imagery and magnificent performances (especially by
a remarkable Olzhas Nusuppaev in the title role) combine in a memorable portrait
of a vulnerable and humane young.
Kazakhstan / France / Russia / Germany
86 min. / Russian with English Subtitles
"Absolutely one of the most beautifully photographed movies
you’ll see this year! A celebration of the strength of
the human spirit!"
Howie
Green, EDGE Boston
"Imaginative
and keenly observant."
Ruthe
Stein, SF CHRONICLE
“A
fascinating and exotic adjunct to Clint Eastwood's
Million Dollar Baby. Olzhas Nussuppaev is remarkable!”
James Verniere, BOSTON HERALD
“Spectacular! 15-year-old
Olzhas Nusuppaev is a gangly, beautiful boy with
copper skin and unreadable eyes, and he broods
through this film like a sullen angel, with something
of the menace and vulnerability that made James
Dean so magnetic.”
Andrew O’Hehir, SALON.COM
“[Director]
Omarova is a clear-sighted, self-confident filmmaker…She
has a painter’s eye for composition and a
novelist’s sense of character.”
A.O. Scott,
THE NEW YORK TIMES
" Stunning!"
V.A. Musetto, NY POST
“Recommended! A genuinely beguiling work!”
Bilge Ebiri, NEW YORK MAGAZINE
“Sun-seared rural Kazak's illegal boxing circuit is the setting for this
assured first feature ... Further evidence of contempo vibrancy in Kazak
filmmaking ... Omarova emerges as a talent to watch with THE RECRUITER,
showing a particular knack for filming bodies in motion ... Pleasingly
pulpy story fits right in with indigenous, Slavic tradition and current
fascination with gangster fare ... Omarova evinces a local's keen sense
of place in collaboration with production design, capturing the scruffy
locations used with a painterly eye.”
Leslie Felperin,
VARIETY
“Wonderfully acted! A
gripping, understated thriller with a solid emotional undercurrent!"
Ken Fox,
TV GUIDE ONLINE
“A
coming-of-age story that is sensitive and well observed.”
A.O. Scott, THE
NEW YORK TIMES
"A visually stunning film! Everything about this movie
is first class! The acting is wonderful, the characterizations
are epic and believable and the photography is crystal
clear! The script is literate and beautifully written!
This movie will expose you to many new ideas!"
Amos Lassen, CINEMA PRIDE
"Powerful, edgy, and with an enormously talented cast, THE RECRUITER comes HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED!"
Svet Atanasov, DVD Talk
“Startling
film noir. The acting is first-rate throughout. The brutality of the fights and
Mustafa's growing ability to outfox his enemies make for a taut and exciting
picture.”
Ray Bennett, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
“Hasanbek Kidiraliev's razor-sharp photography
takes a range of grim, run-down locales and stark landscapes, and gives
them a striking, often unexpectedly handsome clarity.”
Jonathan Romney, SCREEN INTERNATIONAL
“Visually, THE RECRUITER is extraordinary."
Tom Birchenough, THE MOSCOW
TIMES
“An
austere, moving tale about a young man underestimated by everyone except
himself.”
Ty Burr, THE BOSTON GLOBE
“A stark and stylistic hybrid of the
Dardennes’ formal austerity and Terrence Malick’s lyricism.”
Nick Schager, SLANT MAGAZINE
“A satisfying
gem!”
Donald Levit, REEL TALK MOVIE REVIEWS
“The
performance by the actor portraying the boy is
beyond words. The cinematography is spectacular.
(This) is a film not to be overlooked!”
Jason Whitaker, GENERATION
Q
“Director Guka
Omarova makes a fine debut with this burly coming-of-age
drama."
Shari Roman, FLAUNT
MAGAZINE
“(A) distinct
flavor for time and place and unsentimental performances
mark Omarova a director to keep both eyes on. Recommended.”
GROUCHOREVIEWS.COM
“Stunning! ...
a sophisticated blend of crime thriller, coming-of-age
story and social realism”
Jami Bernard, NY DAILY NEWS
“A transfixing,
gracefully constructed slice of realistic cinema!”
Gene Seymour, NY NEWSDAY
"This is a stirring,
solid picture that deservedly has won numerous
awards. I highly recommend it"
Gerri Garner, AMERICAN RADIO NETWORK
WINNER
- BEST ACTOR
Tokyo Film Festival
WINNER - MAIN
PRIZE BEST FILM
Cottbus Eastern European
Film Festival
WINNER - BEST
DEBUT
XV Open Film Festival “Kinotavr”,
Russia
WINNER - BEST
ACTOR
Morocco Film Festival
WINNER - FIPRESCI INT'L
FILM CRITICS AWARD
Haifa (Israel) Film Festival
WINNER - BEST FILM BY
A FEMALE DIRECTOR
Copenhagen Film Festival
WINNER - GRAND PRIZE
Tallinn (Estonia)
International Film Festival
 2005
Portland International Film Festival (opening night
film)
2005
Bangkok International Film Festival
2005
Rotterdam International Film Festival
2005
San Francisco International Asian American Film
Festival
2005
St. Paul International Film Festival
2004
Cannes International Film Festival - Un Certain
Regard
2004
Toronto International Film Festival
2004
Vancouver International Film Festival
2004
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
2004
Chicago Film Festival
2004
Munich Film Festival
2004
Haifa International Film Festival
2004
Sofia International Film Festival
2004
Cottbus Film Festival of Eastern European Film
2004
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival
2004
Tokyo International Film Festival
2004
Thessaloniki International Film Festival
previously released
under the title SCHIZO
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